On Monday, I shared the classic EPIC2015 with my undergraduate new media class. We discussed which companies had been less or more influential than this 2004 vision and how the vision missed mobile and YouTube. … [Read more...] about Has Google Finally “Got” The Ideas Presented In EPIC2015?
How Dumb Do They (We) Think We (They) Are?
I was watching C-Span, again. This would be pretty sad but, I have to tell you, it is better than Ambien. Anyway, C-Span was rerunning a talk between David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal and Representative Dave Camp (R-MI), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. This talk was conducted at the Wall Street Journal’s recent CFO Network Conference. In general the … [Read more...] about How Dumb Do They (We) Think We (They) Are?
Failure to adapt
While Germany, the rest of Europe and even China embrace the future, alternative energy, resistance continues in the United States. The reason of course is that big oil and big coal own enough lawmakers to stop it. This is why the US will be left behind. Germany is leading the way in smart grids: The US put the first and only men on the moon and led the world in … [Read more...] about Failure to adapt
Obama’s Boldest Bet Yet (Estadao, Brazil)
Is it reasonable to assert, as President Obama did the other day, that, the 'wave of war is receding'? According to this editorial from Brazil's Estadao, while the last few years have proven the 'folly' of Bush's 'war against terrorists,' President Obama's belief that the 'tide of war' is receding may well turn out to be just as far fetched. The Estadao editorial says in … [Read more...] about Obama’s Boldest Bet Yet (Estadao, Brazil)
Obama Sends Mistaken Message to the Taliban (Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Switzerland)
Is President Obama's decision to follow through with plans to withdraw from Afghanistan just a misbegotten election-year ploy? According to columnist Andreas Ruesch of Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Mr. Obama has sent the Taliban the wrong message at precisely the wrong time, apparently for strictly electoral purposes. For Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Andreas … [Read more...] about Obama Sends Mistaken Message to the Taliban (Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Switzerland)
Who Can Replace America as the World’s Policeman? (Rzeczpospolita, Poland)
Has the world seen the last of the major U.S.-mounted invasions? For Poland's Rzeczpospolita, columnist Marek Magierowski writes that while electoral politics played a role in President Obama's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, the explanation goes much deeper. For Rzeczpospolita, Marek Magierowski writes in part: Obama also knows that his country is no longer … [Read more...] about Who Can Replace America as the World’s Policeman? (Rzeczpospolita, Poland)
Obama in the East Room Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
WASHINGTON - From Press Secretary Jay Carney via Twitter. Taylor Marsh is a Washington based political analyst, writer and commentator on national politics, foreign policy, and women in power. A veteran national politics writer, Taylor’s been writing on the web since 1996. She has reported from the White House, been profiled in the Washington Post, The New Republic, and … [Read more...] about Obama in the East Room Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
The Undie Feted
Feted, n. 1. To celebrate or honor with a festival, a feast, or an elaborate entertainment. 2. To pay honor to. [French fête, from Old French feste; see feast.] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. There must have been a typo. You might remember this, from 2008 … [Read more...] about The Undie Feted
Lessons From Sweden : Economics and Culture
Imagine a country that has weathered the global recession (5.5 percent growth last year v 2.8 in the U.S), where unemployment is dropping (7 percent v 9 percent in the U.S.) and where gross debt is manageable (45 percent of the economy v 100 percent in the U.S.). That country is Sweden, the pinko-socialist country that many U.S. conservatives love to hate. One reason Sweden … [Read more...] about Lessons From Sweden : Economics and Culture
Taliban Thumbs Its Nose At West
Some of you may have noticed that the Taliban has engaged in a terror attack on Kabul, Afghanistan's Intercontinental Hotel. They just don't seem interested in cooperating with the Afghan government or any Western entity. This attack may or may not be over. Apparently helicopters just shot terrorists on the hotel roof. Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Gunmen and suicide … [Read more...] about Taliban Thumbs Its Nose At West
Will Andrew Cuomo Run for President in 2016?
Will Andrew Cuomo run for President in 2016? The conventional wisdom is suggesting just that, due to the New York Governor's leadership in achieving his state's same sex marriage law – an achievement that turned Cuomo into the political Justin Bieber of Democratic Party liberals. The narrative took on such a frenzied life that the New York Post reported Cuomo ordered his … [Read more...] about Will Andrew Cuomo Run for President in 2016?
Once Again Degrading Free Speech In The Service Of Buying Elections
Campaign spending has long been a slippery slope, and finding a balance between private and public interests and wealthy benefactors and nickel-dime contributors has been difficult. But the goal -- trying to mitigate the impact of big bucks on election campaigns -- has been a worthy one. And one that the Roberts Supreme Court has once again determined to be less worthy than … [Read more...] about Once Again Degrading Free Speech In The Service Of Buying Elections
Free Speech: The Means Tested Constitutional Right
Imagining that the founding fathers intended that free speech be a commodity to be bought and sold like ham hocks has never resonated with my understanding of the Constitution. It’s true that five current members of the U. S. Supreme Court disagree with me and insist that speech is a market item that comes with a price tag attached. Those with the cash in pocket to pony up … [Read more...] about Free Speech: The Means Tested Constitutional Right
Quote of the Day: How Michele Bachmann Differs from Sarah Palin
Our political Quote of the Day comes via Morning Joe from the host of the same name Joe Scarborough who notes the differences between Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. Mediaite has this quote where Scarborough notes how Bachmann has upped her game since hiring veteran GOP consultant Ed Rollins: “When she doesn’t have the trainer in the corner she swings wildly, like Mike … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: How Michele Bachmann Differs from Sarah Palin
Black Folks and the “I Hope… The Wince”
You see a crime story on the television, newspaper, or via the Internet: Brutal beating caught on tape; gay teen says assault was a hate crime And, if you're black, many times you immediately think, "I hope they aren't black". Not the victim but rather the perpetrators of the crime. Then you find out that they are black and then you wince. In countless households, … [Read more...] about Black Folks and the “I Hope… The Wince”
Bachmann Shows, Asserts No Fear – of Media or Sarah Palin
In the clip below from this morning's TODAY show, U.S. Representative from Minnesota and Republican primary candidate for president, Michele Bachmann, shows how to handle being asked if she fears being "palinized" (in the video at about the four minute mark). In my opinion, as someone who has run for office, anyone who "fears being palinized" should not be running for office … [Read more...] about Bachmann Shows, Asserts No Fear – of Media or Sarah Palin
Weiners in the News
Weiners in the News: There are good weiners. And bad Weiners. … [Read more...] about Weiners in the News
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Makes First Public Crowd Appearance In Houston
Although the medical jury is still out as to whether she will ever recover enough to serve again in Congress, there's yet another tidbit of good news about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords: she made her first public appearance in front of a crowd and she wowed them: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made her first public appearance in front of a crowd since being shot in the head Jan. 8, … [Read more...] about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Makes First Public Crowd Appearance In Houston
The Circus of the Social Classes (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about The Circus of the Social Classes (Cartoon)
Three Summer Reading Picks
Jeff Shaara writes about Americans at war. His Civil War books were justly praised, his World War II efforts equally well received. The latest (and last) in his World War II series, The Final Storm, deals with the 1945 invasion of Okinawa, the last major land battle in the U.S. Pacific War against Japan before A-bombs brought an end to the conflict. Shaara's use of made-up … [Read more...] about Three Summer Reading Picks